1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an exercise device for strengthening the most distal phalanges, the digits. Specifically, the exercise device allows the wearer to isolate and strengthen one or more individual muscles that control the digits.
2. Prior Art
Sports at all levels are highly competitive. Athletes are constantly practicing and exercising to improve their ability in a particular sport. Countless exercise devices have been designed to isolate and improve the strength of various muscle groups and individual muscles. While a considerable amount of attention is paid the larger muscle groups of the legs, arms and trunk, relatively little attention has been given to exercising various muscles that give strength to the fingers. This is somewhat surprising considering that most sports require the handling of a ball or other instrument in which a strong grip is important. The most important part of an athlete's grip lies in the digits, the most distal phalanges of the fingers. The ends of the fingers are vital for gripping a basketball, football and many other sport objects. While many gloved devices have been designed, none allow the wearer to focus on strengthening his or her digits.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,224,012 to Hamm teaches a bowling device “which maintains the spacing [between the fingers] so that these fingers do not wander over the surface of the bowling ball during the throwing cycle” (Col 1, Lines 20-24). More importantly, the Hamm device does not feature any structure or covering or means of restricting the two middle fingers or thumb. Whereas the instant invention is an exercise device, Hamm is essentially a substitute for muscle development.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,604,933 to Stephens discloses a flexible hand and wrist restraint to be used ostensibly for restraining a patient from moving his or her arms generally but does not teach the restriction of movement of specific anatomical features of the wearer's hand, let alone one or more of the metacarpal-phalangeal or proximal interphalangeal joints.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,476,174 to Chow discloses a sleeve having a splint to partially immobilize the thumb side of a hand and further suggests the immobilization of the wrist and “first dorsal compartment” of the wearer's hand, but it does not teach the restriction of movement of any of the digits nor does it provide a fulcrum for the digits.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,010,473 to Robinson discloses a remedial hand wear article comprising a glove for comfortably fitting onto a hand of an individual, an enclosure superimposed on a top side of the glove and permanently attached thereto, and a substantially rigid member positioned within the enclosure and operably associated with a finger of the individual to position that finger in a desired posture. The glove portion of the hand wear article provides comfort to the user while also serving to lessen the noticeability of any hand or finger grotesqueness. A proximal knuckle of at least one finger is blocked to prevent hyperextension, while the proximal knuckle and the distal knuckles of the finger are capable of full anatomical finger flexure.
It is therefore desirable to provide a device for exercising the most distal phalanges, or digits.
It is also desirable to provide a device for isolating and flexing only the digits while maintaining the rest of the hand in a stationary position.
Independent small muscle response in the hand is important to develop for many activities including sports. While the improvements in strength and flexibility are obvious, the benefits of improved independent muscle response are sometimes less recognized. Independent muscle control in the fingers is not as apparent but is even more significant in a broader sense. This applied to athletics but also goes beyond athletics to music, such as a guitar for instance, or even the workplace, such as typing. The present invention permits hand exercises and development which are designed to overcome the natural grasping reflex in the fingers. The natural grasping reflex is actually reinforced by most strength or conditioning devices, often to the detriment of muscle coordination in the hands and arms. For example, golf instructors have long recognized benefits gained by reduction of tension in the golf swing. Reducing muscle tension increases stamina and improves coordination. It is a well established principle in golf that you should grip the club with the fingers as much as possible as opposed to what might be termed a “hammer” grip. The primary benefit of the golf grip is that it eases tension in the larger muscle groups which greatly increases wrist action and consequently the power and speed in the swing. This same principle translates to throwing a football, wherein more action equates to more power and additionally quicker release. In baseball, the father out in the fingers the ball is held, the better the wrist action and the faster and hotter the fastball. In order to demonstrate this principle, one can relax the hand, fingers extended and flex the wrist. Trying tighter and tighter grips while flexing the wrist shows that a noticeable difference in the wrist movement. The improved movement is the results of reduced muscle tension in the non-involved muscles.
The present invention extends the exercises that are possible to condition the independent muscle response beyond just the distal interphalangeal joints and the exercises condition these muscles to respond more effectively in various circumstances.